Calcium
by koumorin
Summary: Inaho Kaizuka is secretly self conscious about his height.


Every morning is the same. Some people might consider it monotonous but for Inaho, having a steady unchanging routine is comfortable. He wakes up early. Much earlier than his sister, Yuki, a teacher at the same school he attends. After preparing breakfast for the both of them he gets ready to leave, usually just as his sister wakes up and makes her way to the kitchen, lured out by the smell of eggs on the skillet. Although little things such as how he prepares the eggs or which shoe he puts on first might change, one thing never changes. Every morning after breakfast he makes sure to drink one full glass of milk. Since he was a child Yuki always insisted on Inaho drinking milk so he would grow big and strong. While he never paid much mind to it back then, he does now. Holding on to the notion drinking milk regularly might have some positive effect on his height.

Inaho Kaizuka is secretly self-conscious about his small stature.

He would never let anyone know that though.

A senior in highschool now and he stands (not so) tall at 164cm. He files his misgivings about his height away as he finishes his glass of milk this particular morning, rinses it, and places it neatly into the sink. He doesn't give it any thought throughout the school day. There are other more important things for him to focus on and even when there aren't his friends keep him occupied enough, that it doesn't slip into his mind.

Except when Slaine's around. His best friend, there's constantly an air of competition surrounding them. Always implicitly trying to best the other in well, everything. Inaho surpasses the blonde in academics but when it comes to physical dexterity Slaine has Inaho trumped.

He also surpasses Inaho in height. By six centimeters to be exact.

The two became friends when the blonde suddenly transferred into his school last year. Although the new boy was a year older they ended up sharing a few advanced classes. The two quickly became friends. Inaho was never one to go out of his way to socialize but something had drawn him to Slaine. He found he could not seem to leave the older boy alone. He loved throwing the other off balance. Seeing his reactions intrigued him. They bickered so often most people thought they couldn't stand each other. But the truth of the matter is there wasn't anyone who knew the other better.

Every night before heading to bed Inaho measures himself. There hasn't been any any change in over a year. He's beginning to think his efforts are futile.

However on this particular night, the unforeseen happened.

In class the next morning, Slaine could tell something was up. Inaho had been looking at the blonde expectantly since they got there. Slaine had no idea what Inaho wanted and was not about to indulge him. They were in the middle of class and Slaine was _trying_ to pay attention. Being attentive was proving to be incredibly difficult, hyper aware of the red eyes currently boring into him. He was becoming self conscious, was there something on his face? No, he skipped breakfast that morning. Was it his hair? He glances upward and pats down a few pale blonde strands. _Why do I even care?_ Slaine scowls down at the notes in front of him in a feeble attempt to focus when a meticulously folded piece of paper lands directly in the fold of the book lying open before him. He catches the upturn of his lips before he breaks out in a grin and scowls down at the paper _._ He isnot about to let curiosity or Inaho get the best of him. He takes the note and sticks it in his pocket. He steals a glance at Inaho whose eyes have narrowed ever so slightly. _Good he's annoyed._

Inaho finally looks forward and Slaine lets out a breath of relief. His solace is short lived as tapping sounds emit from the other boys direction _._ Slaine peeks at Inaho again who has begun relentlessly drumming his pen on his desk looking perturbed. Slaine reaches toward the pocket containing the note and the tapping stops as Inaho eyes his hand poorly feigning disinterest. Slaine pulls out a stick of gum instead. The taps resume even more blatant than before. _How annoying._ Slaine stares at his friend bewildered by the usually quiet boy's brazen behaviour.

Inaho catches Slaine staring and shoots him a dirty look, or that's how Slaine interpreted it. _Is this really that important._ Slaine sighs as he surrenders and pulls the note from the folds of his pocket. He's not about to let the brunette win that easily he thinks to himself as he removes the note agonizingly slow, teasing the other boy. After a few dreadfully long seconds the note is once again on his desk in front of him. He takes his time opening it, sneaking a quick glance at Inaho in the process. Inaho has ceased all the nonsense and is now sitting upright watching Slaine intently as he opens the note. He squints at the precise handwriting:

" _Do you notice anything different about me?"_

Slaine crumples the note immediately and without hesitation throws it directly into the others face, glaring at him. Inaho obviously miffed has begun now tapping his pen furiously on the desk before him. _Anything different? As if. He looks as plain and boring as ever._ Slaine turns back to his studies attempting to drown out the sounds of Inaho's drumming with mathematics.

The rest of class went by excruciatingly slow. Inaho's drumming continued and Slaine was getting a headache. As he massaged his temples he resolved to leave the classroom as soon as class ended not waiting up for Inaho. He has a feeling if he talked to the boy after class he would be late to his next one. They would see each other later in the day anyway. The bell rings. Slaine jolts up from his seat, nods briefly to Inaho, and runs out the door, not giving the other any time to catch up.

The rest of the day passes in a blur and for some reason Slaine could not stop thinking about the stupid note. _Notice anything different about me?_ No, what was he supposed to notice? The other boy obviously did not get a haircut and their school required a uniform so his clothes were the same as always. As if on queue a hand grabs his arm, stopping him in his thoughts as he is turned around and faced with a pair of red eyes staring up at him blankly.

"Slaine." Inaho states plainly.

Slaine scrutinizes the boy in front of him. He has never been presented with a problem he hasn't been able to figure out some answer too in a very long time. He could feel another headache coming on.

"Kaizuka, what do you want."

"You're being hostile, did I do something to upset you?" Inaho inquires and straightening his posture and taking another step towards him. He's so close Slaine can feel the heat emitting off Inaho's body, it's suffocating, he can't think straight. _Is it just me or is he standing abnormally close._ He pinches the bridge of his nose almost painfully. _Get a grip._

"Slaine." The voice brings him back to reality and he finally looks at the brunette. Mistake. The coffee haired boy is looking up at him and looking into those big red orbs Slaine can't help but think he resembles a wide-eyed kitten ready to pounce on it's prey. _Cute._ Slaine feels heat rush to his face at the thought and faces away bringing his hand up to try and hide his reddening cheeks. Inaho tilts his head inspecting the blonde trying to hide behind his hand. Slaine steals himself to face the younger boy again who is now gazing up at him inquisitively. Strike two. The curious eyes staring back at him are simply captivating. Inaho moves closer, his posture unnaturally upright lifting himself up as much as possible while keeping his feet firmly on the ground. _Just what is he doing?_ Slaine's feet might as well be cemented to the floor, Inaho's grip on his arm is long gone but he can't move. He is simply enraptured by the brunette standing before him and this time can not bring himself to look away. _Since when has Inaho had this effect on him?_ The seconds pass by agonizingly slow as Slaine stands there in anticipation. _Wait. Just what was he anticipating. Inaho would never. Why did Slaine want to? This is wrong, wrong, wrong._ Slaine shakes his head trying to disperse his disturbing thoughts and speaks up.

"I-Inaho what are you doing." He mentally curses himself for stuttering.

"Do you notice anything different about me?"

"This again?"

"What did you think I was doing?"

Slaine's face goes beet red with embarrassment.

"N-nothing!" He practically squeals as Inaho's arm brushes against his own.

Inaho's brow furrows slightly as he scrutinizes the blonde but thankfully he doesn't press any further. Slaine breathes a sigh of relief and takes a step back from the brunette who follows his lead and steps forward keeping the distance (or lack there of) between them the same.

"Just what are you doing?" Slaine mutters at the other boy annoyed.

"I don't know what am I doing, Slaine?" Inaho persists.

Slaine takes another step backward and feels his back make contact with the wall. Inaho takes another step forward. There's no escaping him. He's even closer now, so close Slaine can feel the others hot breath softly caress his neck. It's intoxicating.

"I-Inaho give m-me some space would you?" Slaine feebly tries to push Inaho away from him.

"Is there a problem, Slaine?"

"Yes! You're too close!"

Inaho makes no attempt to move from his position.

"J-just what do you want from me?" He asks growing more annoyed by the second with how flustered Inaho is making him, his back now flush against the wall as Inaho presses closer.

Inaho stays silent, still staring at the stammering blonde before him. Slaine can't handle much more of this, agitation growing, his vision dancing around Inaho's face trying to avoid those burning red hot eyes currently setting him on fire.

"There is something I want from you."

Slaine was at his limit. He couldn't believe what Inaho was insinuating. He couldn't believe he was _right_. He couldn't believe he wanted this too. _This is so embarrassing._ At this point Slaine is so fed up with the current situation he doesn't think twice.

"Fine Inaho something you want? I'll give you what you want!" Slaine states dramatically and in one swift motion places both his palms on the sides of Inaho's face and kisses him deeply.

Inaho is completely still with shock. He has never been caught so off guard. Milliseconds? Seconds? Minutes? He doesn't know how much time passes before the fact that Slaine's lips are currently pressed against his own registers in his brain but somewhere along the line he subconsciously began returning the gesture. His lips are warm and welcoming, and just as soft as they look he notes. Slaine Troyard just kissed him, his best friend, and he is kissing him back. He _almost_ forgets why he was here in the first place but places his hands on Slaine's shoulders and pushes him away as he remembers. Surprisingly enough Slaine doesn't turn away. Inaho watches as the boy before him comes undone, emotions running haywire flashing across his face as reality sets in. Bewildered, embarrassed, frightened.

"I only wanted you to note that I got taller."

He eyes are drawn to Slaine's adam's apple as he swallows hard. The other boy is completely unnerved.

"But this is fine too."

He steals Slaine's sigh of relief as he presses their lips together once more.

 _fin._

Authors Note

Inaho grew 1 millimeter.


End file.
